


Lo-Fi

by dralexreid



Series: Dr Piper Bishop [19]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Explosions, F/M, Implied/Referenced Terrorism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27052282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dralexreid/pseuds/dralexreid
Relationships: Dr Spencer Reid/Dr Piper Bishop
Series: Dr Piper Bishop [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972852
Kudos: 23





	Lo-Fi

Everyone was scattered. 

Derek was getting coffee a few miles from the office when he got the call. 

Piper was listening to music on a train headed to the office when she got the call. 

Emily was placing coffee on JJ’s desk when she was told. 

Spencer was sitting with Garcia in her BatCave, discussing Doctor Who when he got the call. 

Rossi pulled up to the complex when he got the call. 

In little less than 10 minutes they were all gathered around the table in the conference room, waiting for Hotch to speak. 

“Don’t get comfortable,” he spoke with urgency laced in his voice. “There’ll be time to debrief on the jet.”

“Where are we headed?” Spencer asked him.

“New York.”

“About time,” Rossi scoffed. “5 shootings in 2 weeks.”

“Garcia’ll be coming with us. Hopefully, they’ll give her access to their security cams.”

“What do we know?” Emily asked.

“All the killings are mid-day. Single gunshot to the head with a.22. No witnesses.”

“.22-caliber pistol’s Only 152 decibels. New York streets and subways are routinely well over 100ft. It could be people aren’t even registering the gunshot until the unsub’s already leaving the scene,” Spencer spoke hastily.

“They sound like mob hits,” Derek proposed. 

“Except none of them have ties to organised crime,” Hotch shot back. 

“Do they have any connection to each other?” Emily asked.

“None they’ve found.” 

“How about communication with the police?“

“Surveillance cameras have captured video of 3 of the murders. This is the latest.” 

“That’s the best image they have?” JJ asked.

“They’re all the same. He wears a hood and keeps his head down.” 

“This guy’s bold,” Piper remarked, stepping closer to the screen. “Crowded areas, broad daylight. So they’re completely random?” 

“It seems that way.” 

“Son of Sam all over again,” Spencer said grimly. Dismissing them, they grabbed their go-bags and walked out to the SUVs waiting for them outside. 

In the jet, JJ and Piper sat at opposite corners, one staring out the window, the other reviewing case materials on the desk next to Rossi, Hotch and Spencer. Piper looked up as she heard Garcia’s voice, whining to Derek. “How come I only get to travel with you guys like once every 2 years?” 

“Trust me, mama, It can get old.” 

“Oh, right, like the way that spa treatments in 5-star hotels can get old,” Piper smirked.

“Remember the time we got on board and they hadn’t chilled the cristal?” Emily mocked as she walked straight past Derek to the coffee.

“Ooh. I almost quit the BAU that day.” 

“Okay, you know what? You guys can joke all you want, ‘cause I am never leaving this plane,” Penelope smiled.

Rossi glared the 3 stragglers into their seats, almost permanently gluing them there. “The victims?” He asked Hotch.

“Each killed in a completely different neighbourhood. Hell’s Kitchen, Murray Hill, Lower East Side, Chinatown, East Harlem.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. There’s no common victimology, no sexual component, no robbery, no geographical connection,” Reid sighed.

“Not to mention the complete lack of emotion within the kills. Just shoots them in the head and walks away. Doesn’t even look back at the victims, they don’t even care,” Piper acknowledged sadly, staring at the dead bodies on the grimy subway floors.

“He’s killing roughly every 2 days. The press is having a field day, And it sounds like the mood on the street’s getting pretty edgy.” 

“It’s a joint FBI-NYPD Taskforce?” Rossi asked.

“Kate Joyner heads up the New York field office. She’s running point on the case and called me directly.”

“Joyner, I know her,” Morgan commented. “She’s a Brit right?”

“Dual citizenship. British father, American mother.”

“Heard she can be a pain in the ass.”

“I didn’t think so,” Hotch murmured next to Piper.

“You know her?” Emily asked him.

“We liaised when she was still at Scotland Yard. I think we’re lucky to have her.”

^-^

Suffice it to say that they were feeling more than awkward at more than one thing. The first was the tension between Hotch and Joyner. It did not help a bit when JJ pointed out that she looked exactly like Haley, which was the last thing Piper needed to think about her boss. The second was the palpable tension between the New York officers and the FBI. Garcia disappeared to wherever the nearest large computer system was and Joyner pulled Hotch into her office for a ‘quick chat’. “They uh… _liaised_ at Scotland Yard,” Emily muttered to Piper who pushed her away.

“You are incorrigible.”

“Taking it as a compliment.” They laughed, oblivious to Derek’s quick glances to the blonde Brit. 

“What is their problem?” Spencer whispered to Piper, glancing at the New York detectives.

“They’re just frustrated. I’d be too. 4 murders in one city and no-one can explain it. And Joyner doesn’t seem like the sharing type.” She sighed. “Why do I get the feeling that we aren’t going to get any sleep until this is over?” She gratefully accepted a cup of coffee handed to her by Derek. 

Hotch set them up in different rooms, Piper and Spencer working on a geographical profile, Emily, Detective Cooper and JJ going through the footage and the others visiting crime scenes. “I don’t get how you do this.”

“Hmm?” Spencer said as she passed him a doughnut with chocolate sprinkles. 

“I mean coordinates and plot points, how does this not just swim in your brain?” He thought about the question Piper posed as he chewed.

“I guess you and I think differently. I rationalise everything and you contextualise it. Maybe that’s why we work well together.” Piper smiled, passing him a napkin and returning to the file. “Where’s the most recent one?”

“East Harlem.”

“Okay, I think we’re done with this.” He caught Piper’s puzzled look as she looked at the geographical profile, then the victims. “What is it?”

“It’s chaos.”

“What?”

“You said it yourself, there’s no pattern. The crimes are everywhere, the victims are everyone. They’re creating absolute chaos.”

“So he’s a terrorist?”

“I think so. Except terrorism builds. Unsub’s gonna get bigger and bigger.”

“What are you saying?”

“Unsub had three victims. FBI was called in. He keeps going, now the BAU’s involved.”

“You think he’s gonna go bigger.”

“Maybe. Probably.” She sighed, her head drooping. “I don’t know. I’m just trying to make sense of the chaos.”

“If you’re right…” She looked up at Spencer. “That means he’s gonna complicate his plan.”

Piper lay on the table, eyes closed, going through the narrative as Spencer read through the city’s records of gun violence. “Is uh.. is she okay?” Spencer looked up at Emily and Detective Cooper.

“Oh, yeah, she’s fine.” He returned to his files.

“So, wh–what’s she doing?”

“Going through a mental narrative of the crimes and extrapolating potential personal circumstances key to an individual’s emotional and psychological development,” she murmured, eyes still closed. Detective Cooper glanced towards the other two agents who looked unfazed.

“Okay, whatever, we have another victim.” Piper got up immediately.

“Did the signature change?” she demanded, staring at the detective.

“Uhh…Yeah. Shot him at an intersection, left a calling card.” She leapt off the table and crossed out most of the theories. “That means something?”

“It means everything,” Piper turned, marker in hand. “He’s changed his MO meaning his goal has changed. If we follow the same theory, his goal isn’t to terrify people anymore. Thrives on chaos, probably hates authority figures. What kind of card?”

“Tarot card.”

“Message?”

“Death.”

“Huh.” Piper resumed scribbling as Spencer explained her thoughts for her.

“The tarot card, death, doesn’t actually mean death in the physical form. It’s more of a transformation, typically it implies an end, possibly of a relationship or interest, and therefore implies an increased sense of self-awareness.”

“Yeah, similar to Journey of the Magi when Eliot says, “I should be glad of another death”, in that scenario referring to his religious and spiritual disillusionment.” She turned, catching Cooper and Emily’s blank stares. “Which has no bearing on the case. Just a fun fact.”

Waiting on Hotch’s updates from the crime scene and with nothing else to do, Piper fell asleep, holding a John Keats poetry collection in her hand, her right hand dangling from the couch. Spencer kept going at the geographical profile as Derek huffed into the room. Being too busy to ask Derek what happened, Spencer gulped and launched his marker lid at Piper’s head. Piper shifted on the couch, but too far and fell on the carpeted floor. Groaning, she got up, walked over to Spencer and smacked the back of his head with her book. She trudged to the coffee pot on the desk, pouring cups for the three of them. “You gonna tell me why you look all mopey?”

“I don’t look–” He met Piper’s mocking glare and relented. “I’m catching attitude from Joyner.” Piper nodded before she remarked.

“Tough luck.” She returned to her seat on the couch. 

“Wh–tough luck? She’s giving me attitude and all you’ve got is tough luck?”

“Yeah, that’s what you’d say to yourself if it was Hotch.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, Derek, that women have to work twice as hard to get where Kate Joyner is and right now, she’s under so much scrutiny from the top brass, that she has to double down on everyone. So if she’s giving you attitude, suck it up.” She sighed, closing her eyes. “This case is absolute chaos and there is almost no way to make sense of it. We’re all a little frustrated. The last thing we have time for is profiling our own bosses.” Emily ducked into the room.

“We have footage from the latest crime scene. And something else is weird.”

Everyone gathered around Emily’s screen, watching the footage as the unsub shot the man holding the pretzel and ran off. “See the difference from the other murders?” Emily demonstrated. “In one, he calmly walks off. In the other, he runs.”

“It’s two entirely different demeanours.” Piper realised. 

“6 kills in, his behaviour should be set,” Derek noted, frowning. Thinking, Spencer leaned into the speakerphone.

“Garcia, are you still there?”

_“Would I ever leave you? Ok, check it out. I did a digital perspective analysis rendering on the shootings where we have footage. Now, the first two are inconclusive, But the last two I found something trés weird. Your calm walking type, He is about 6'1”. But your sprinter, He’s like 5'9", 5'10", tops.”_

“We’ve got more than one unsub.”

_“You’ve got more than one unsub.”_

“So what do we know about killing teams?” Piper asked.

“Most teams stick together. Uh, Ng and Lake, The Krays. Bittaker and Norris. They don’t usually kill separately,” Spencer told her.

“Could be some kind of gang initiation,” Piper suggested. 

“Gangs will kill you if they encroach on your territory, not random people all over the city,” Emily explained. 

“Do you think we have enough for a working profile?” Joyner asked.

“Broad strokes,” Rossi answered. 

“Dave, you and Reid talk to the agents here. Morgan and Prentiss, brief the police when each shift comes on duty tomorrow.”

“I think we should get out on the streets,” Derek suggested. 

“I brought you here to create a profile,” Joyner refuted. 

“Which we can give in the morning, and then they can share it with the afternoon shift.” 

“We’ve allocated every extra man we have. This is New York City. It’s not like a few more people are going to blanket the city.” Piper raised her eyebrows, glancing at Spencer, who looked visibly anxious.

“I understand it’s a long shot, but these guys, they hit at midday. We could target ingress and egress to particular neighbourhoods. Position us near express stops- 14th, 42nd, 59th-” 

“Morgan, it’s not your call,” Hotch interrupted him. Piper and Rossi watched Derek walk away.

“I’d like to join you in the profile if that’s not stepping on your toes,” Joyner said politely.

“No problem,” Rossi spoke, a little confused. A few hours passed, with no sign of Derek, and they kept studying the new video, bouncing theories back and forth. Eventually, Hotch announced for them to go to the hotel and get some sleep. 

Piper whistled at the interior lobby. “Classy. When’s the last time FBI let us stay at a hotel this nice?”

“March 14th, 2007. Working a serial rapist case in Seattle,” Spencer recalled.

“So only high profile cases then. It’s like they’re bribing us to work extra hard,” Piper said, gazing around the corner to find Will. “JJ, it’s your personal life.”

“Will.” JJ smiled for the first time the whole day. She hadn’t noticed at the time, but she’d been unnaturally quiet.

“Took a shot and flew to DC, but that didn’t work out. I figured a train ride to New York was only a few more hours. I’m sorry for showing up like this. I know you’re working. But, um… I can’t stand you being on this case and me not being there. Not with what’s going on.” Piper and Emily tilted their heads at JJ, who just sighed heavily. She turned to face the group and said two words putting a smile on most faces.

“I’m pregnant.” Piper squealed and Emily hugged her.

“Congratulations!” Emily cried.

“Shit,” Piper said. “Does that mean we have to be role models?” She gasped. “Do I not get to hit Derek anymore?” Emily slapped her on the arm as JJ laughed. Piper hugged her. “Congrats, JJ. You’re gonna be a great mom."

"Yeah, she's had practice, looking after us for so long," Emily joked.

Hotch simply patted her on the back, giving her his best wishes before walking away from the group. Piper was too busy hugging Will and Emily too busy talking excitedly to Spencer to notice so JJ slipped away to talk to Hotch. “JJ, you could have told me.”

“I know.”

“I understand if you need to take some time.”

“No, I-I want to be here.”

“Okay. 7 am.” He said, walking away, trying not to be reminded of his wife and son. JJ walked back to the group and Emily, Piper and Spencer said their goodbyes, walking up to their rooms. 

“Are you crazy?” JJ laughed as she held Will’s hands.

“Come back to DC with me.” JJ sighed. “They know now. They’d understand.” 

“Will, w-we’re covering a case with 6 murders.” 

“Exactly. Your job is too dangerous now.” 

“Yeah, exactly like yours. What, are you gonna give up your shield? Look, I love the gesture, and I love the romance, but… we’re both gonna be parents, Will. Neither one of us has, you know, exactly a typical job.” 

“The first thing a cop does when she gets pregnant is she takes herself out of the field.” 

“Ok, you know what? We only have until 7:00. So can we just argue about names and cribs?” 

“Only if you let me win.” He kissed her hands then pulled her close. She kissed his cheek before whispering.

“Not a chance.”

In the morning, the team divided into pairs as the NYPD senior officers divided into groups. Hotch and Rossi took one group, Emily and Derek another as Piper and Spencer took the last group. Piper sat perched on a desk as she started the profile. “These murders aren’t personal. There’s no emotional motive like lust or greed. There’s an underlying motive to them, and we believe they’ve studied many criminal cases.”

“John Muhammad wanted to kill his ex-wife, but he knew if he did, he’d be the prime suspect, so he created a spree in order to mask his primary motivation. Muhammad and Malvo also left a death card at one of their scenes, just like this unsub. We believe our unsubs have studied that case. They’re opening a line of communication with us.”

“Hold on,” one of the senior officers started. “So now we got these guys playing games just 'cause you’re here?” 

“We’re just saying the unsubs are sophisticated enough to study other crimes,” Piper stated calmly. 

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“Yeah, you’re right. The unsub’s starting to leave cards for us. But what that tells us is at least one of them has some intelligence. And like Dr Reid said, they know about other cases. He’s also studied the placement of the surveillance systems well enough to avoid detection. Now, most teams have a dominant and submissive member. Because of the relative intelligence of these unsubs and the fact they stick to a set time pattern, we believe at least one of them has a steady job,” Piper explained before handing over to Spencer. 

“We’ve asked the police to canvass their precincts, check businesses that open and close around the time of the shootings. We’re hoping someone will be able to identify a father-son or coworkers that fit the dominant-submissive profile.”

“What’s the other theory?” another officer asked.

“It’s less likely, but it could be some sort of gang initiation. We’ve asked the police to put every available undercover on the streets. These are all known gang members in Manhattan,” he said as Piper began handing out information packets. “Most of them are out of Chinatown and Clinton. We’d like you to study these and keep an eye out for anyone who looks suspicious,” Reid finished. As officers started filing out of the offices and onto the streets, the BAU team gathered on the main floor.

Derek walked up to see Hotch looking slightly perturbed on the phone, which generally meant panic. “We’ve got a possible suspect of 59th and Lex.”

“Is anyone stationed there?” Piper asked.

“No,” Derek said bitterly, eyes trained on Joyner.

“Agent Joyner, how far is it from here?” Piper asked her.

“A few miles, why?”

“You have a bike I can borrow?” As Joyner ordered Shelley to bring the keys to a bike, JJ retrieved a vest and mic for Piper. “Get Garcia to send me directions.”

“There’s no time, Piper.”

“I have to try,” Piper said, grabbing the keys from Shelley and sprinting down to the parking lot. Grabbing the nearest bike, Piper leapt on and started it, speeding down the NYC streets, siren blaring. “Garcia, where am I headed?” she yelled.

_“Left…now… second right… Pipes, he’s headed west on 59th street.”_

“I don’t have time to think Garcia, basic directions.”

 _“Okay, right at the traffic lights, I see you on the cameras, he’s walking towards Central Park.”_ Piper almost had him, her eyes locked on the back of his hoodie until she saw the wave of oncoming traffic, headed in her direction. As he headed west, a sea of cars flowed to the east.

“No, not now, not today,” Pocketing the keys, she ran after him on foot. “Garcia, pursuing on foot. You still see me?”

“No. No visuals.” Cursing the city, she sprinted hard, gun out. Clearly, he heard her and started sprinting into Central Park. 

“Shit.” She raced after him until he started darting around park benches and over people lounging about on picnic blankets. “Shit.”

“Piper, what happened?”

Panting, she spoke three words, dashing every hope they had. “I lost him.” She stowed her gun, then started jogging back the way she came. 

Back in the field office, Piper sat cross-legged on the sofa, gulping down water, Spencer sat next to her. “He’s athletic. Relaxed, even though he heard my sirens. He knows the city well too. Walks in the opposite direction of traffic.”

“It’s okay, Piper, you did all you could,” Hotch encouraged her and she smiled weakly and tried to control her heavy breathing.

“It’s okay, Hotch, that’s all you have to say?” Derek burst out. "We could’ve had that guy.” 

“Even if we were on that platform, odds are he would have moved on to somewhere more isolated.” 

“Maybe, but it was worth taking a shot.” 

“We had every available man on the street.

And I suggested to you that you use this team.” 

“Derek,” Piper intervened. “We’re not a field team. Hell, I couldn’t even chase the guy into Central Park.”

“Piper’s right. Derek, second-guessing doesn’t do us any good right now.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, well, Piper, you’re not exactly a real agent anyway. Hotch, how am I supposed to look these cops in the eye and tell them that we’re actually here to help them?”

“Oh, I’m about to break your nose all over again,” Piper murmured.

Ignoring her comment, Hotch continued. “We’re here to present a profile. That’s what we need to do.” 

“I said to put us at express stops- 14th, 42nd, 59th and that’s exactly where they hit.” 

“It’s not your place to have this discussion. You need to back off.” 

“My place? We got 7 bodies, man.” 

“Which is exactly why we need to stay focused.” 

“Focused.” He scoffed again. “From where I’m standing, all your focus is on her.” 

“Take a walk, now,” Hotch ordered quietly. As they all dispersed, Piper clutched her ribs.

“Are my ribs supposed to feel broken?” Spencer smiled. “What’s my diagnosis, doc?”

“I think you have a case of I’m-so-stupid-I-run-after-criminal-ass-without-any-back-up-itis.”

“There a cure?”

“Nope. All-natural. You do need a nap though.” She groaned.

“And food. Lots of food.” 

“Yeah, yeah, chicken fried rice right?”

“Ahh, you know me so well.” Spencer chuckled and Piper downed her bottle, throwing it into the bin…and missing.

^-^

Derek sat at the hotel bar, spinning his beer on the table. Rossi sauntered up to him and sat on the stool beside him. “I know, I know, I was out of line.”

“Big-time. You get too emotionally involved sometimes. I know the feeling.” 

“I just felt like Hotch was taking her side.” 

“There are no sides here. I know. The word is, they have an eye on you if SSA Joyner gets canned.” Derek looked up at him. “People talk. But if she were to get fired, it would be because we didn’t solve this case.” 

“Rossi, I hope you’re not saying you think I want her to fail.” 

“Of course not. But I’ve never seen you push a superior like that before. So would you take the job?” 

“I don’t know. It might be nice to finally be the one making the calls.” 

“And dealing with the politics of running a field office? That doesn’t seem like you.” 

“BAU wears people out, man. Look at Gideon. That man was the best, and in the end, he simply ran away. I mean, Hotch hasn’t even thought about cracking a smile in over a year. That man has to take a personal day just so he can have a conversation with his own kid. What about you? How many times you been married?” 

“I get it. But I’ll make you a deal. If I think you’re losing it, I’ll pull you out myself. But right now, I see someone who wants to get back on the job. Or is there another reason why you haven’t even touched that beer?” Rossi squeezed his shoulder and walked away. Derek drummed the table before pushing his drink away and following Rossi to the field office. Rossi led him up to the Joyner’s office where Hotch and her rewatched the footage.

“Listen, um… About before…” Derek started to apologise but Joyner stopped him.

“You spoke your mind. I respect that.” 

“Bishop, Reid, and Prentiss went to the crime scene with the detectives,” Hotch updated. 

“This is the first time they’ve killed 2 days in a row. They’re speeding up,” Rossi noted. 

“Your analyst went over the latest footage. This is a different shooter from the last two,” Joyner informed them. 

“There’s 3 of them now? Who the hell are these guys?” Derek asked.

“I want you all out on the street tomorrow,” Joyner nodded at him. 

“What are we missing?” 

“When we first saw this case, what did it remind us of?” 

“Son of Sam. Same kind of unsub. Random shootings, not need-driven, no sexual component.” 

“Except that Berkowitz admitted that he would return to the scenes of his crimes days later to masturbate,” Derek remembered.

“Exactly.” 

“So you’re thinking if the dominant unsub has a similar MO…” Joyner though aloud.

“We get Garcia to study the footage and see if the same person keeps returning to the crime scene in the days following the shootings.” 

“All we’ve been looking at right now are the immediate aftermaths of the crimes. It’s worth a shot. We’ll hit the street tomorrow. That’s all.”

^-^

Piper stood on the corner of 59th Street, leaning against a lamppost as she stared at Central Park. “You did everything you could.”

“Yeah, well.” She glared at the ground. “Wasn’t enough.”

“Pipes–” Derek went to touch her arm, but she pushed him away.

“Look, you’re right. I’m not a real agent. I should just stay put, do nothing and quote some obscure poem about death, hoping it’ll help.” She scoffed, refusing to maintain eye contact.

“I’m sorry. I was out of line before. It was just–”

“A slip of the tongue? You know, Morgan, Freud was wrong about a lot of things, but the Freudian Slip, maybe he was onto something.”

“Jeez, Piper. I didn’t mean it. I was angry and out of line. I’m sorry.”

“You were angry? You weren’t the one running full speed against the guy, losing him because you can’t do parkour. You were the one second-guessing the woman who’s in charge of making a call.”

“So that’s what you’re mad about? Me second-guessing Joyner?”

“No. You under-estimating people. She’s a good agent with a tough job and a lot of other people would’ve cracked by now under the pressure she’s got. She’s got enough scrutiny on her without you doubting her every decision.”

“Why are you defending her so much?”

“Because no-one else will. Because I know what it’s like to have a job to do and people under-estimating your every decision. I know what that kind of mass scrutiny feels like, agonising over every decision you make, hoping to God it doesn’t go south.”

“Pipes, you’ve been in the FBI a year, you’ve–”

“You still don’t get it. Even after knowing everything about me. My mom was a professor at Berkeley, she was called names for having two little ones at home and still working, called names for quitting her job, called names for being a bad housewife, called names for–” She couldn’t get the words out. “So yeah, I respect Joyner. I respect her integrity, her discipline, her work ethic. One bad decision shouldn’t condemn her to eternity. Do you think you aren’t being heard? Try being a fully qualified female Brit heading a New York field office with no-one listening to you. Try being a woman with 4 PhDs in psychology after working her ass off be told she’s not even a real agent after she was the only one physically trying to catch the bastard.” Derek was silent. “Yeah.” 

^-^

They got off at 14th Street Station as Cooper attempted to, very terribly, Emily would add, try to flirt. “So, uh… if we’re undercover, maybe we should, uh, you know, act like a couple.” 

“Are you still working this tired sexual tension angle?” 

“I don’t know. You’re the fortune-teller. You tell me.” 

“You want to know what profiling is, really?” 

“Why do I have a feeling I’m gonna hear no matter what I say?” 

“It’s just noticing behaviour.” 

“I’m about to hear about mine. Is that the deal? Ok.” 

“When we first met, when your partner was sarcastic and said, ‘yes, ma'am,’ You instinctively reached for your detective shield, as if you were protecting it. That tells me you don’t like him disrespecting the chain of command. But you’re also loyal, so you didn’t say something to him. I’d say you were military, probably an officer. Praise in public, censure in private, right? You’re right-handed, but you have two different colour pen marks on your left hand. I’d guess you have a toddler at home just learning how to draw. You don’t wear a ring. And you were quick to flirt with me. So you’re happy to let people think you are a player. But if I took you upon it, you would run for the hills, because you love your wife and you would never actually cheat on her.” 

“Wow. You might just solve this case yet.”

^-^

Rossi and Reid stared at the profile. “Hey, Rossi. Piper said something a few days ago, it was just a theory we were making.”

“Well, what’s she got?”

“She said that the only thing she could see was chaos. Essentially, she identified him as a troublemaker terrorist thriving on chaos. After the 6th victim, we dismissed it thinking the goal had changed, but what if it hasn’t? What if it’s just getting bigger?”

“The tarot card.” Rossi thought aloud. “We profiled that the unsub was trying to open a channel of communication but he hasn’t contacted us again.”

“So?”

“This doesn’t fit. These unsubs are organised. They use pre-surveillance. They strike in the heart of the day and yet they haven’t done anything to seek out media attention. And then this.” He held out the death card.

“We said it was to tell us they knew we were here.” 

“We profiled that he was trying to open a line of communication, create panic, but if that was the case, his correspondence should escalate.” 

“After they left their death card, Muhammad and Malvo demanded an ATM card with a million dollars In a bank account just to taunt the police. Berkowitz wrote rambling letters about hunting the city, describing himself as a monster.” 

“These unsubs are more disciplined than that. The fact that they haven’t contacted the press tells me… that this was private. It’s only for us. 

“So what does that mean?” 

“They’re ramping up to something, and they want us to know that they’re watching us.” 

Spencer re-examined all of their evidence. “If you saw all of these traits completely out of context, what would be the first profile to pop into your head?”

^-^

Piper and Derek silently sauntered along the block, the tension palpable. “Kay, look,” Derek started, stopping Piper who glared at him. “You’re right. I underestimated Joyner. But I have never underestimated you.” Piper crossed her arms, as though to say _Really?_ “Okay, maybe sometimes. But I have never meant to hurt you. I made a mistake. You are everything an agent is meant to be. Hell, sometimes I forget you haven’t been through the academy. I can’t promise to never say anything to hurt you, ‘cause let’s face it, that ain’t realistic. But if I ever hurt you, including this one, you get anything you want, on me, reasonably speaking.”

“I accept your apology and I’ll call it even if you buy me an iced coffee when we get back.” She smiled, winningly. She’d have forgiven him eventually. But the iced coffee was too good to resist. 

^-^

_“Guys, possible unsub headed down 16th and 5th.”_

Emily and Cooper sprinted up to 16th Street, spotting a black male in a hoodie and raced after him on foot. Cooper drew past Emily and followed him into an alley, holding up his gun but the hooded man shot first. Emily followed, firing two successive shots to the chest and calling an ambulance. She knelt down next to him, pressing on the gunshot wound. “You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay.”

The team converged on 16th Street and Union Square in time to see Cooper bundled into the ambulance. Piper wrapped Emily in a hug. “You okay?”

“Fine.”

“Do you wanna leave? I can offer stale coffee at the office.”

“No, let’s get this done.” Nodding, Piper and Emily walked over to Spencer and Rossi, overlooking the dead boy. “Couldn’t have been older than 21,” she murmured. “I shouldn’t have had to shoot him.”

“You did what you had to do Em.” 

“No, I mean, he could have kept running, he was ahead of us. Instead, he turned and waited.”

“Could be a show of strength,” Spencer proposed.

“Reid, he’s dead,” Emily whispered hoarsely.

“He means the strength of his convictions. He’s willing to die taking down a cop. Trying to prove something. I don’t know what,” Piper thought aloud.

“We have multiple unsubs. They’re disciplined. They’re using counter-surveillance. They know the FBI movements. There’s a hierarchy. They’re ramping up to something,” Emily spoke evenly.

“Wait, so the terrorism theory…” Piper spoke.

“Was right. But we still have no idea what they’re ramping up to.”

“Why do I get the feeling we’re gonna find out?” Piper said bitterly, staring into the boy’s cold eyes.

^-^

They gathered in the conference room with new eyes. They were dealing with a terrorism threat in New York, the most populated state in the US. “So how do they operate?” Piper posed.

“The murderers simulate a bombing. From there they keep someone to watch and gauge police response time at which point they know when to bring in a second bomb,” Emily explained. 

“The goal is always to take out the first round of civilians, followed by a second wave of emergency responders,” Joyner nodded. 

“It’s crazy, but it’s ingenious. They get a practice run, and if someone catches the shooter, they think they just have a murderer. The cell isn’t compromised. It’s lo-fi,” Hotch scoffed. “Smartest way to plan for a terrorist event. Creating panic ensures that they see the most urgent response times short of a bombing.” 

“So there’s been 7 different shooters?” Derek asked.

“Having followers do the shootings would ensure they’re willing to kill or be killed for the cause,” Emily explained.

“It fits the profile,” Piper started pacing. “There’s something larger at play. It’s similar to gang initiation. Especially if they’re home-grown. They haven’t had a chance to prove themselves.” 

“I think they’re targeting points of entry,” Reid turned to his geographical profile. “All the murders have taken place near a bridge or a tunnel. Holland Tunnel, Midtown Tunnel, Manhattan Bridge.” 

“If bombs went off,” Emily extrapolated, “emergency response would shut down any ability to get in or out of the city. It’s like people would be trapped on the island.” Derek’s phone buzzed at that exact moment.

“You’re on speaker, Garcia.”

“ _We have a problem. I went through and checked all 4 468 cameras. They hacked into the surveillance system. They’ve got footage of every crime scene. They’ve been watching since the beginning.”_

“How could we not have caught that?” Hotch asked her. Piper kept pacing. Something wasn’t fitting.

_“They were smart. It wasn’t system-wide. You had to check each camera individually.”_

“And this is from every crime scene?” Emily asked.

_“I’m afraid so. They hacked into one camera at every scene._

“Thanks, Garcia,” Derek told her as he switched off his cell.

“We need to hit the ground running,” Joyner announced.

“I’m going to the hospital to check on Cooper.” Hotch nodded at Emily.

“I wanna stay here, focus on the profile and figure out their next move,” Piper told him.

“Good. Dave, will you go talk to the commissioner, and, Morgan, you brief Homeland Security. Reid, talk to the port authority police. Kate and I will go talk to the mayor and we’ll meet back here as soon as possible.”

Everyone was scattered. 

Derek grabbed his files and a bag, getting into his SUV.

Rossi grabbed his keys, his files and his credentials, getting into his SUV.

Emily grabbed her keys and FBI windbreaker as well as her ID, getting into her SUV.

Spencer grabbed his satchel, leaving JJ who had asked Hotch if she could go see Will since he’d decided on moving to DC for her, getting into his SUV.

JJ grabbed Will, telling him she loved him, him kissing her, them getting into their SUV.

Hotch and Joyner rushed down the stairs, files in hand, getting into their SUV.

Garcia grabbed her goodie bag, done for the day, ready to head to the hotel for some sleep, getting into her SUV.

Piper was pacing in the conference room, tossing a marker in her hand, going through the motions as she found the missing piece. She rummaged through the evidence, pulling out the tarot card. _It was personal, for us._ Her veins ran cold. How could she be so stupid? _Death._ She ran to the elevator, but it had already gone down. Panicking, she sprinted to the nearest window. She pulled out her phone, dialling the most recently dialled number, not even thinking. “Don’t start the car!” she yelled into the phone, but her heart sank as she saw an SUV blow up in front of her eyes. Her knees buckled and she didn’t stop herself hit the floor. “No.” She whispered, closing her eyes, wishing for it all to be over.


End file.
